The classic 2 v 1 exercise doesn’t work well with young players. Don’t give up on it though. Try out these ideas to work on this crucial decision-making area of the game.
A 2 v 1 exercise has the ball carrier fixing the defender before passing to a support player. However, for young players, this doesn’t work well.
Why? It’s mainly because most players are not strong passers of the ball. They can pass, but not at the right speed and with the required accuracy. Also, support players struggle to time their runs and take the ball at the right pace.
Therefore we have to change our expectations of how we develop our players’ 2 v 1 skills. Here are three ideas.
2 v 1 FRONTS
Have the defender on their front just before the “passer”.
Feed the ball to the “passer” who has to then pass the ball to their teammate before the defender can get to their feet and touch them.
2 v 1 CORRIDORS
Have the defender standing in a narrow corridor.
The ball carrier simple runs up to the defender and then passes the ball. That should help with some timing and passing issues, plus give the ball carrier a cue to pass.
2 v 1 GATES
Put a gate a third of the way into a box.
The ball carrier has to race to the gate while a defender aims to beat them to the gate.
Once at the gate, the ball carrier passes the ball, but not before.
TECHNIQUES
Attack the defender at pace.
Hold the ball in two hands.
Turn the shoulders to pass the ball to the receiver.
Follow the hands through to the target.
Pass in front of the receiver.
The receiver calls for the ball and puts their hands out to make a target for the passer.
Bounce out is a term used to explain the action of the 9 when running away from a breakdown. Here’s how it works and how to practise it in a game-like situation. MORE
Eamonn Hogan chats with World Cup winning Graham Smith about the modern scrum. Graham, who is a level 5 coach, coached England Women to a World Cup in 2014 and six Grand Slams. He has coached with the Worcester Academy, CN Poble Nou in Spain, Stoke and Moseley RFC. Graham and Eamonn cover the following... MORE
A session ideal for pre-season or in-season if you need to reconnect your players with their handling skills and pace onto the ball. Accurate passing is essential to maintain a flowing attacking move capable of exploiting mismatches and space. Look at the detail as well as the outcomes. MORE
Develop your players’ ability to recognise and exploit opportunities to counter-attack from turned over possession. By driving into tackle tubes, the attackers are disorientated momentarily. They then have to recover to play what’s in front of them. MORE
Your approach to what you are looking for when you are coaching tackling will help you and your players focus on the right areas to improve their defensive capabilities. When I look at the tackle, I am predominantly outcome driven. If it works, then that is more important than if all the technical processes have been ticked off. MORE